Hospital tech who spread hepatitis C through drug use sentenced to 39 years

December 2, 2013 / 2:47 PM
/ CBS News/AP

CONCORD, N.H. -- Traveling medical
technician David Kwiatkowski was sentenced Monday to 39 years in prison for
stealing painkillers and infecting dozens of patients in four states with
hepatitis C through tainted syringes.

"I
don't blame the families for hating me," Kwiatkowski said after hearing
about 20 statements from people he infected and their relatives. "I hate
myself."

Kwiatkowski,
34, was a cardiac technologist in 18 hospitals in seven states before being
hired at New Hampshire's Exeter Hospital in 2011. He had moved from job to job
despite being fired at least four times over allegations of drug use and theft.
Since his arrest last year, 46 people have been diagnosed with the same strain
of hepatitis C he carries.

Before
he was sentenced by Judge Joseph LaPlante, Kwiatkowski said he was very sorry
what he had done. He said that his crime was caused by an addiction to
painkillers and alcohol.

The
victims spoke angrily and tearfully of the pain that Kwiatkowski had inflicted
upon them.

Linda
Ficken, 71, of Andover, Kan., was one of two Kansas victims to attend the
sentencing hearing. She underwent a cardiac catheterization at Hays Medical
Center in 2010, and said she is haunted by the memory of Kwiatkowski standing
at her bedside for more than an hour, applying pressure to the catheter's entry
site in her leg to control a bleeding problem.

"On
one hand, you were saving my life, and on the other hand, your acts are a death
sentence for me," she told him Monday. "Do I thank you for what you
did to help me? Do I despise you for what your actions did and will continue to
do for the rest of my life? Or do I simply just feel sorry for you being the
pathetic individual you are?"

Lynwood
Nelson, who was infected when he went in for a procedure at the Baltimore VA
Medical Center in 2012, said Kwiatkowski "should receive the same
punishment he gave us: the death penalty."

Prosecutors
had pushed for a 40-year prison sentence, saying Kwiatkowski created a
"national public health crisis," put a significant number of people
at risk and caused substantial physical and emotional harm to a large number of
victims.

Defense
lawyers argued that a 30-year sentence would better balance the seriousness of
the crimes against Kwiatkowski's mental and emotional problems and his
addiction to drugs and alcohol, which they said clouded his judgment.

In
all, 32 patients were infected in New Hampshire, seven in Maryland, six in
Kansas and one in Pennsylvania. Kwiatkowski, 34, also worked in Michigan, New
York, Arizona and Georgia.

Two
of the 16 charges stem from the case of a Kansas patient who has since died. Authorities
say hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause liver disease and chronic
health problems, played a contributing role.

Ficken
told The Associated Press last week that while she has struggled with fatigue
since her diagnosis, a bigger blow came last month when her brother was
diagnosed with leukemia and was told he needs a stem cell transplant. While
siblings often are the closest match, she can't donate because of her hepatitis
C status.

First published on December 2, 2013 / 2:47 PM

CBS News/AP

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